Apr 4, 2007 7:06 pm US/Central
Gun Fears Force Collin County School Lockdown
by Bud Gillett
ANNA (CBS 11 News) ―
There were tense moments Wednesday afternoon for students and parents, after a gun was found on the campus of a North Texas high school. The anxious moments lasted for more than two hours for students locked down inside Anna High School and for parents waiting outside to pick them up.
Parents using cell phones and text messages communicated with students inside, helping to calm both camps.
During the lockdown parent Deanna Linkugl to CBS 11 News her daughter was inside and that, "She's been calling me like every five minutes telling me everything that's going on."
Authorities say Patrick Wilson, 18, brought a gun to the school. Students say he was despondent, wanted to hurt himself and claimed to have a gun. After Wilson allegedly made the comments, students notified a campus resource officer.
"He had, like his pocket was like down here [hanging low] and it was big and there was like something poking out of it. I was like, 'What's in your pocket?' and I walked over to him and he liked freaked out… and them told us he had a gun and stuff," said fellow student Teryn Wendel.
Wilson fled the school but was captured off campus. The teenager didn't have a gun when he was taken into police custody. Because the alleged weapon
wasn't recovered the school was locked down for a secure campus search. Eventually a 22-caliber pistol was also discovered off campus and students were allowed to leave. No one was injured.
Wilson was booked in the Collin County Jail on a charge of carrying a firearm on campus. Sheriff's department information list's Wednesday as Wilson's 18th birthday.
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